Over the years I have developed the habit of handing a recommended reading list of sales books to new sales starters, at any level on the career ladder.
To stay fresh and keep your brain open to ideas and creativity it is important to absorb different perspectives. No-one says you have to agree with everything you read, it is just healthy to challenge your own thinking and if you stumble across a couple of useful ideas worth using then that’s a fabulous added bonus.
I tend to lean towards mindset themed books, books about sales or human psychology and the hidden powers of our brains, so there is a bias in this list. Nevertheless, I’m sure you’ll find them all inspiring in some way.
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1. The Chimp Paradox by Prof Steve Peters
This book has had the single biggest impact on my daily lexicon at work and home. Members of our house-hold can often be heard saying “put your chimp away” or similar to keep each other in check. The book focuses on the inner workings of your brain, essentially three zones – your chimp (or emotional centre), your human (frontal brain) and your auto-zone. The auto-zone kicks in when you go onto auto-pilot because a task is very well practiced and rehearsed (like driving home and not knowing how you’ve got there).
It teaches how to be aware of all three zones and how to use this understanding to life advantage. Essentially described as a “mind management model” that can deliver success (also good for all parents out there). From personal experience it has definitely helped me to act more reasonably and not react emotionally. I’ve felt benefit in leadership and negotiation through keeping my “chimp” at bay!
2. How to Sell by Jo Owen
This is not a book that I often hear mentioned at sales conferences or in networking circles, but one I have found to be very practical. It gives a rounded understanding of many aspects of selling with a focus on skills and technique. I like how it gives examples from across major industries, focuses on sales productivity and also covers some meatier aspects (like bidding or tenders) that other books shy away from. How to Sell feels squarely aimed at the professional business world.
For me, especially when starting out, I found it a useful reference guide and my own copy got very worn with use!
3. Drive by Daniel H Pink
By contrast Dan Pink’s book (long title Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us) is oft spoke about at sales conferences and networking circles. Back to psychology and human behaviour the focus is on uncovering our real motivations and then linking this to high performance. A must-read for all managers or leaders to help them better understand how to motivate their teams and a must for many individuals seeking to find satisfaction in their professional lives.
The answer to the question posed in the title is unforgettable and easy to remember (only three words in reality with much power behind them).
4. Persuasion by James Borg
Persuasion (long title Persuasion: The Art of Influencing People) was useful to me earlier in my career as a salesperson responsible for my own target, but interestingly has become even more useful as I’ve progressed and the criticality of my conversations and need to persuade has grown. Applies to many circumstances from a customer meeting to a board-room conversation, from a negotiation to obtaining buy-in from your team on a new idea. It gives insight into the use of language, non-verbal signs, maintaining attention and crucially – listening, all of which are skill sets that if honed can improve the performance of any sales professional.
5. Any fiction!
So I cheated. Not a single book, but all books – just not business or sales books! Professional salespeople like to invest in their development, they enjoy business books like those recommended above (I know I do!) and they spend a lot of time learning these perspectives from other professional people.
However, one of the most important skills (or is it a quality?) to have is empathy. Sales is (thankfully) still very focussed on the development of human to human relationships and the success of these very real interactions. The diagnosis of help offered by a sales person can depend in part on the ability to relate, read emotion, sympathise, empathise or connect, one human to another. There is no better exposure on earth to the whole melting pot of human emotion than in the world of fiction.
Reading fiction forces your brain to enter a new world away from your norm. You connect with characters you don’t know and are forced to understand their plight and circumstances. Wonderfully, you journey with them on the ups and downs of their lives; which I believe can only enrich your own emotional reactions and how you see others. As a result, my advice here is simple: take time out when you can to curl up with a good book and let yourself go. Your imagination will benefit and your ability to characterise and relate to those you meet in your professional life will improve for the better.
For another interesting post linked to sales books, why not read our feature interview with Dr Beth Rogers on her book Selling Professionally – A Guide to Becoming a World-Class Sales Executive.